Sabal Miamiensis

[Zayin]

In all the books i've read, pretty much all of them are saying that Sabal Miamiensis is extinct due to lost habitat.. Okay, extinct in the wild, but is there anyone who is growing this in cultivation?

Assuming that there is, how different is it from other dwarf Sabals?  

Hmm?

[macario]

I actually got seedlings form a board member a while back

[Mike4284m]

Christian will probably pipe in on this.  I believe he collected seed from someone in the past year.

[Dave-Vero]

http://www.regionalconservation.org/ doesn't list it.  Sabal etonia can still be found in northern Miami-Dade County

The Center for Plant Conservation has a good explanation of the situation.

[Zayin]

Again, that site says that there are none left at all and further that it is unable to locate any living collections to examine further. .. I've heard that the New York botanical gardens has a specimen but I havent been able to confirm it.

???

[Dave-Vero]

NYBG has a searchable database of living collections.  Just a few Sabals.

[macario]

heres the email of the person who I got a couple seeds from

cfkingfish@gmail.com

and this is the webite

http://www.faulknerspalms.com/

This was his picture I believe

http://inlinethumb14.webshots.com/6733....MG]

[SunnyFl]

Leu Gardens in Orlando has a palm labeled "Sabal miamiensis."  It looks just like a trunkless S. palmetto - it's a very nice palm.

If this is, in truth, a real miamiensis, perhaps there is hope for getting it into cultivation and preventing extinction.  Also Christian Faulkner - as mentioned by a previous poster - may have some seedlings.  It would be wonderful if this palm could be brought back.

[macario]

Of the seeds I got from him one has sprouted already with its first leave working on it second

[iwan]

I received a few seeds from Christian last November.  I noticed a couple weeks ago that a couple have pushed up spikes.  6-7 months to germinate for me.  My seed pictures are on my old laptop.  I had been meaning to take pictures of the seedlings last week.  Hopefully, next week when I am back home.

Looks like I have some more painfully slow palms to add to my collection.

[iwan]

(SunnyFl @ Jul. 11 2007,18:49)

QUOTE

Leu Gardens in Orlando has a palm labeled "Sabal miamiensis."  It looks just like a trunkless S. palmetto - it's a very nice palm.

That reminded me.  I took pictures of this palm at Leu during the first weekend of June 07.

Overall view

Frond close-up

Petiole view

Inflorescence

[Dave-Vero]

Here's Scott Zona's description of Sabal miamiensi  in the Flora of North America, with highlighting by me:

3. Sabal miamiensis Zona, Brittonia. 37: 366, figs. 1--2. 1985.   Miami palmetto

Stems subterranean. Leaves 3--6, yellow-green, strongly costapalmate; hastula narrowly triangular, 2.4--7.7 cm; segments filiferous, 50--85 ´ 2.8--3.0 cm; apices bifid2-cleft. Inflorescences paniculate, loosely branched with 3 orders of branching (not counting main inflorescence axis), horizontal-arching, about as long as leaves. Flowers 5--5.5 mm. Fruits black, shiny, oblate-spheroid, length 14.3--16.9 mm, diam. 15.7--19 mm; pericarp thick, fleshy. Seeds 6.2--6.7 mm, diam. 10.2--11 mm diam.

Flowering spring--summer. Rocky calcareous soil of Miami pinelands; of conservation concern; 0--10 m; Fla.

This species is restricted to the oölitic limestone of the pine rocklands of Dade County (S. Zona 1985). The natural habitat of Sabal miamiensis has been urbanized, so this species is likely extinct. Despite differences in habitat, this species may not be distinct from S. etonia.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I think the Leu plant has two orders of branching, the inflorescences seem shorter than the leaves, and the plant has more than six leaves.  It's clearly a Sabal, but based on the photos, it seems to be something else.

[macario]

That desription is exactly like the pic Christian provided me.

[Zayin]

I wonder what Christian's seed source was then? hopefully the real McCoy..

It will be interesting to see what your plants look like when they start to get big.  Let me know in fifteen years..  

[cfkingfish]

Hey guys-

I have not talked to Scott Zona personally regarding this information on S. miamiensis, but got most of it secondhand. The palm was native to the area that encompasses where Fairchild and Montgomery north up through downtown Miami and North Miami Beach. There was apparently a strand of them at one time as well along the coastal areas in the Hallandale area north to Fort Lauderdale.

The first picture in the thread shows the palm I have collected seed from. Having seen S. etonia and S. miamiensis under similar conditions, it seems the latter has much more costapalmate fronds, a more compact crown, smaller fronds, and an odd saucer-shaped seed which is rather large. The plant was grown from a 3 gallon in 1991 and was purchased from a respected palm collector living in the area. The plant seems to match the taxonomic description exactly.

[Gileno Machado]

Nice vigorous little seedlings sprouting here too, some are already in the second strap leaf stage. Should I grow them outside and in partial shade?

[Kris]

All Mr.Visual can tell here is more and more i see the sabal's iam scared i will fall in love even with these guys..

At present iam growing few sabal riverside,sabal palmetto,

sabal mexicana !  

Thanks for the stills,

love,

Kris  

[Eric in Orlando]

Christian, you got seed to germinate from the palm here at Leu Gardens? I have tried a couple of times but never had any germination.

The Sabal miamiensis here at Leu Gardens (the ones in the photos) was acquired from a vendor at the Broward Spring Palm Sale at Flamingo Gardens back in May 1999 It is in close proximity to some other Sabals so there is a chance that resulting seedlings could possibly be hybrids.

[cfkingfish]

Eric-

I collected seed from a local palm and cycad collector who purchased his plant from Dale Holton back in 1991. It has unripe seed on it now, but the seed from last fall now has a second strap leaf like Gileno's. It has been seeding for a few years but never bothered to germinate it. There were no volunteers beneath when we collected the seed.

[Eric in Orlando]

I wonder if that is who I bought ours from at Flamingo Gardens.

[cfkingfish]

The inflorescense looks like it is erect and coming straight from the ground. The bracts on this one here come out at a horizontal and this one has a pseudotrunk. I will take more pictures the next time I am there.

[iwan]

(iwan @ Jul. 11 2007,19:42)

QUOTE

Inflorescence

QUOTE CF:  The inflorescense looks like it is erect and coming straight from the ground. The bracts on this one here come out at a horizontal and this one has a pseudotrunk.

One inflorescence is shooting straight up as you noted.  The one in my close-up picture is almost dragging the ground.  You can see where it emerges (behind the two petioles on the right side of the picture.  I will look through my pictures and see if any others provide new details.

[edbrown_3]

Heres a excerpt of Zonas article credited to Britonia vol 37 # 4 1985

A New Species of Sabal (Palmae) from Florida . S. Zona

Diagram credited to the same.  note the flower and the 2 vs 3 orders of branching .

Smiamensis.doc

[merrill]

Over the years I've wandered through many, many acres of S. etonia.  In general, the photos in this thread of S. miamensis are markedly more costapalmate than the s. etonia I've seen.  I've never seen an erect inflorescence on etonia.  Admittedly of less significance is that the inflorescence is whiter than any etonia inflorescence I've seen. In short, I'm convinced of the uniqueness of S. miamensis.  merrill